EDITOR – The letter written by Jennifer van der Westhuizen of Checkers Head Office, which appeared in the Berea Mail of 23rd August 2013,setting out her company’s views on the problem of in store theft (in this case, Checkers Davenport), requires a response.
In it she tries to convince her readers that her company is doing everything possible to prevent thefts of customer’s belongings in their stores. She mentions all the actions which Checkers has put in place to apprehend these in-store thieves and tells us why CCTV surveillance does not guarantee that perpetrators will be caught. She ends by warning us, her customers, that we need to remain cautious and not to ‘leave’ personal belongings unattended at any stage. Her letter left me with the feeling that her company does not really appreciate the extent of the problem and , if not correctly addressed, what it will do to their business.
On the 25th July 2013, my wife was robbed in Checkers, Davenport Centre of a substantial amount of cash, her newly acquired drivers license and all her money cards.(This sounds like a replica of the incident published in last week’s mail.) Unfortunately, she drew money to pay wages before entering the store, and was most likely followed into the shop. She remembers being distracted at one of the shelves and thinks that it was there that her handbag was opened and her purse removed; by obviously a skilled gang of pick-pockets.
She received little sympathy and no follow-up from the in-store staff and had to be treated to useless comments such as ‘this happens all the time’.
My immediate response has been to put the Davenport Centre on my ‘no go’ list and, due to the very unconvincing reaction from the Checkers staff and now, this letter from their Head Office spokesperson, to avoid shopping at Checkers.
I believe that, if the problem was being treated seriously, there would be continual monitoring of in-store activities through the installation of CCTV cameras. The mere fact that these would-be thieves are being watched on camera would also act as a deterrent. Contrary to van der Westhuizen’s comment that having camera surveillance does not guarantee that the crooks will be caught, it would go a long way towards making the customer feel safer and that Checkers was as concerned for his/her welfare as for his/her money.
AH Wilson
Glenwood
